Retro Review: Virginia Is For Kids (Travel)

BLOG DESCRIPTION: All about travel, tips and things to do with kids in Virginia. From museums to discounts to festivals and events, we have it all!

MY REVIEW: This blog hasn't been updated since Feb 15. On the other hand, it does look as if the author doesn't update this blog very regularly - one or two posts a month seem to be the norm.

When I first started this review blog, I dismissed such offerings out of hand. If someone pays 99 cents a month for a blog, I thought, they deserve to get an entry a day. But I think my sensibilities have improved since then. The way I look at it now, for the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can get updated on blogs that aren't updated regularly, so you don't need to visit the blog fruitlessly every day, you get each entry when its made!

Having said that, when there's a month between posts, it does make you wonder if the blog has gone inactive.

It's too bad if so, this blog had some good info for Virginia tourists and even locals who wanted to do a bit of exploration of their own state.

Sample post

Free Planetarium Shows:The Radford University Planetarium offers FREE shows to the general public on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7:30pm and on Saturday mornings at 10:30am. The shows vary by the season, time etc. so be sure to check their website for the shows currently running. The Saturday morning shows are usually specifically for children.

Current shows include:

The newly-acquired show “The Planets” which takes audiences on a tour of our solar system, explaining how our solar system and its planets formed, why things rotate around the sun in the ways they do, and eventually looks at the planets that have been discovered around other stars. This show was produced by the Southeastern Planetarium Association and is narrated by Kate Mulgrew (aka Captain Katherine Janeway of “Star Trek: Voyager”) .

The three shows in the “Explorers” series. These were produced by the Bishop Museum Planetarium in Hawaii and address many of the national and Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) for K-12 students.

The children’s show “In My Backyard”, produced by the Calgary Science Center. This show takes younger audiences (from 3 years old to second graders) on a tour of many of the objects that can be seen in the night sky without a telescope.

“Dinosaur Prophecy”: The audience joins paleontologists at the scene of the crime, excavating bones and wondering what killed the mighty dinosaurs. Be amazed as your favorite giants come to life, roam across the dome, and meet their catastrophic deaths. Find out how NASA scientists monitor the Earth and solar system for potential disasters!

And the always-popular Christmas show ” ‘Tis the Season” chronicles many of the legends and traditions of the Christmas holiday season, including the story of a certain star.

Tina’s take: I brought my son and a couple of his friends here for an evening show. They loved it and can’t wait to go back! Curie Hall, where the Planetarium is located on the Radford campus, is easy to find and free parking is available right behind the building. The young lady leading the show we attended seemed to be very passionate about her work and took extra time to answer all the kid’s questions. Shows last anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes.

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1 comment:

Thank you for the review of my blog. Unfortunately, due to being diagnosed with cancer last winter and the subsequent surgeries, I was not able to keep the blog updated as frequently as I hoped. As I work toward getting caught up with everything that was put aside this year, I will be focusing more on Virginia is for Kids and updating regularly.